Nature reserves are not enough!

TV presenter and naturalist Chris Packham is coming to the FBA’s River Lab on Monday 23 July as part of the first independent audit of its kind in the UK. His goal is to investigate the extent to which the nation’s wildlife species are under threat and to meet and raise money for the local projects working on the conservation of wildlife habitats.

Chris will be starting in the Scottish Highlands on 14th July and will spend a fast paced ten days travelling with his team across Northern Ireland, Wales and parts of England. The River Lab, based on the bank of the River Frome is proud to be one of 50 sites Chris will be visiting. They will be one of the beneficiaries of the fundraising campaign which you can support by donating here: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/chris-packham-bioblitz

Chris says: ‘I need to see it for myself. I need to meet the people with their fingers on the pulse of our wildlife the length and breadth of the UK, those unsung heroes, the great British naturalists who know their stuff and are making a difference. I need to get a complete first-hand experience of the natural health of the UK. I’m excited and terrified at the same time. I love learning and seeing new places and species but I fear that I will also bear witness to a landscape in huge trouble. I want to spread an awareness of the successes and failures and to raise some money to help combat the latter.”

The UK Bioblitz team includes 100’s of experts, species specialists, young conservationists and film makers all working together to highlight the state of our wildlife and the need for urgent centralised action to ensure we have wildlife everywhere. Nature reserves are not enough.